BUDGET & TAXES
VA finally passes a budget

POLITICS & LEADERSHIP 
States considering primary reform

GOVERNORS
Govs urged to ditch national association
 
 
 
 
 

State Recaps available this week on the State Net website: 

CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IN, KY, MD, ME, NE, NM, SD, UT, VA, WA, WV, WY
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Who do you call when the freeway's a parking lot?

The breakfast coffee is secure in the cup holder, and the  commute to work is less congested than usual. Suddenly an unexpected cascade of taillights halts all four lanes. The bumper-to-bumper line starts to crawl forward, and you start weighing your options. Stay in this slow parade or exit and try alternate routes on the arterial streets. Turning on talk radio, you hear the "spy in the sky" droning on about an accident across town. No help.  A cell phone call to your spouse to check TV traffic reports is a busy signal. The 1-800 traveler information line has yesterday afternoon's congestion report.

This situation is all too common across America.  Without reliable information, it is hard to make sound  congestion- avoidance decisions. Access to reliable real-time traveler information is also a safety issue when the weather is bad. Is the pass open? Is the ferry canceled for high winds? Which streets are flooded? Dependable roadway information is critical for managing disaster evacuations and alerting  drivers to missing children. 

With congestion growing in states and cities, more than 300 travel  information telephone numbers have appeared in recent years, each one different. These nonstandard systems provide weather reports, road conditions, and congestion assessments that are hopefully updated on a regular schedule. To ease this mishmash, the U.S. Department of Transportation petitioned the Federal Communication Commission in 1999 for a three-digit number to make it easier for consumers to access these travel information services. In July 2000, the FCC assigned "511" to the transportation community, enabling the development of a standard traveler information system. 

Today you can dial 511 for real-time travel information in WASHINGTON, OREGON, UTAH, KENTUCKY, ALASKA, ARIZONA, IOWA, MAINE, MINNESOTA, MONTANA, KANSAS, NORTH DAKOTA, SOUTH DAKOTA, NEBRASKA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, and VERMONT. The service is also up and running in the metropolitan areas of Cincinnati, OHIO, San Francisco, CALIFORNIA, parts of FLORIDA, and the I-81 corridor in VIRGINIA. Once connected, you can request specific route information from an automated attendant. 

The Call 511 Deployment Coalition, led by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), now has a plan to bring Call 511 to all 50 states by the end of 2005. States currently have the lead role in coordinating Call 511 deployments while AASHTO provides the national leadership by coordinating the efforts of travel information experts from across the county. Other leading Call 511 Deployment Coalition members include the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America), and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

But is the system working? By most measures, the answer is yes, as Call 511 is doubling the number of traveler information calls in some states, tripling it in others. WASHINGTON, for example, launched the Call 511 system in spring of 2003, replacing a dedicated touch-tone travel information system in the Seattle area, a statewide 1-800 number, and two numbers used by the Washington State Ferry System. The individual systems received about 32,000 calls a month. In January of 2004, Washington's Call 511 received 68,988 information requests, more than double the previous average. MONTANA also saw a huge spike in utilization after they updated their traveler information systems to Call 511 in 2003, garnering a four-fold increase from 150,000 calls to 678,408 service calls in one year. 

December 2003 was the first month all currently deployed systems received more than a million calls, a total of 1,508,327. January and February 2004 also exceeded the one million mark, with January setting a national record of 1,825,831 calls. This new nationwide record is attributed to the poor weather in December and January, an indicator that drivers are calling 511 before hitting the road when bad weather is forecast.

"Drivers did not want to wait for a radio station report, they wanted information in  real- time," said Bryan Chamberlain, 511 Project Manager, Utah Department of Transportation. 

Call 511 has proven to be valuable -- but not perfect -- in crisis management. In April a man threatened to jump off the San Francisco Bay Bridge, the main artery between San Francisco and the East Bay. The situation created a monumental thirteen-hour traffic jam throughout the Bay Area, with some unlucky drivers already on the bridge trapped in their cars for the entire ordeal. The incident spurred a spike in Bay Area usage, as over a twenty-four hour period the nine-county Bay Area 511 systems received 30,241 calls from commuters seeking an alternate route. The calls peaked at 850 per hour between 4:30 pm and 5:30 pm --the prime commute time. It was almost too much.

"We got a huge spike in call demand . . . more than the system could handle." said Carol Kuester, 511 Marketing Manager for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission in Oakland, California. "We are now analyzing how to resize our system."

While all of these systems don't have the same type or levels of information, they use similar technology to implement traveler information portals. In WASHINGTON, the introduction dialog prompts callers to select from the  following categories: real-time traffic for the Puget Sound area (reading the information from real-time Internet flow maps), roadway conditions and incidents, construction information, mountain pass restrictions and weather  conditions, ferry information, express lane status, or phone numbers for more detailed information. Details include phone numbers for public transit, passenger rail, airlines, and travel information numbers in adjacent states and provinces. Voice recognition technology is used, except for ferry information, which still requires some touch-tone input. 

There are still some roadblocks to deal with in getting Call 511 into every state. To implement the Call 511 system, states must work with local telephone providers to reprogram every telephone company's central exchange switch, including cell phone and private phone systems. This can be a daunting task in large states with multiple national carriers or private phone systems in rural communities surrounding the metro areas. Rural phone companies often lack the funds necessary to do the reprogramming, or to buy upgrades to aging equipment needed to provide reliable 511 services.  

Not every state is ready to adhere to the Call 511 plan. GEORGIA, HAWAII, MARYLAND, WEST VIRGINIA, ARKANSAS, and WYOMING have yet to commit, although it is for different reasons. Wyoming has 511 in their long-range plan, but is concerned with meeting the infrastructure needs before jumping in with both feet. 

"We do not want to advertise 511 until our equipment can meet the demand under worst case conditions," said Robert Wilson, Telecommunications Program Manager for the Wyoming Department of Transportation. "It's going to happen, we just do not have a date." 

GEORGIA, on the other hand, already has a similar system they are not  willing to forgo. Georgia developed the *DOT traveler information system for the 1996 Summer Olympics, and Bert Brantley, spokesman for the Georgia Department of Transportation says, "We worked hard to get *DOT recognized by drivers and do not want to change to 511 in mid stream."

Despite these concerns, 44 other states and the federal government are pushing on. MISSOURI, NEW MEXICO, COLORADO, parts of ILLINOIS, MASSACHUSETTS, and NORTH CAROLINA are slated to implement the system in 2004, with, several more slated for 2005. The Federal Highway Administration has authorized the use of highway changeable message signs to post Amber Alerts (child abductions), and NORTH DAKOTA, NEBRASKA and UTAH have systems in place to link Amber Alerts to 511. When an alert is issued, the roadside signs prompt drivers to call 511 for detailed information. MONTANA, COLORADO and NEW MEXICO are exploring similar Amber Alert links to 511, and the Department of Homeland Security is also studying 511's potential for distributing critical information to travelers during emergencies and regional evacuations. Some states may even charge for additional services, such as tourist information and trip routing. 

While avoiding monumental traffic snarls requires that drivers have access to the most up-to-date information available, Kuester says the key is for drivers to get that information before they end up trapped in such a situation. This means getting drivers to call first and drive second.

"We want people to call 511 before leaving for work- calling 511 should become a daily habit," said Kuester.   

Given the number of calls seen in some participating states, it appears that habit might be developing faster than she thinks. 
 

-- By State Net Correspondent RUSS STEELE

Russ Steele is a former advanced transportation systems planner and is currently a county transportation commissioner in CALIFORNIA.
 

- - - -
See the Call 511 web site at http://www.deploy511.org for details on when this service will be available in your state or region. The map on page 4 shows the status of Call 511 in each state as of January 2004.      TOP OF PAGE

Budget & taxes

VIRGINIA PASSES BUDGET! VIRGINIA's General Assembly approved a budget May 7, ending the bitter stalemate that had kept lawmakers at the Capitol nearly twice as long as the 60 days they'd been scheduled to meet. The budget includes an unprecedented $1.5 billion in new funding for education, mental health and public safety programs hit hard by spending cuts the last two years. The new spending was made possible by the $1.4 billion tax plan passed three weeks ago, after 17 centrist Republicans broke rank in the staunchly anti-tax House. The battle remained bitter right to the end, with anti-tax Republicans vigorously denouncing the compromise during the final floor votes in each chamber. Republican House leaders that voted against the tax increases approved last month also managed to secure funding for a few pet projects in the final budget -- at the expense of teacher raises -- rankling some legislators. Gov. Mark R. Warner (D), who has plenty of reason to feel magnanimous, having assured himself a legacy with the new spending plan, said he hoped "time will help heal those hard feelings." The remarks of one delegate when the budget agreement came out of conference committee, however, suggest that most lawmakers are just glad the 115-day ordeal is over. "I don't know all what's in the conference report, but I don't care. I'm voting for it anyway," said Del. Robert D. Hull (D). "If we vote this thing down, we'll be here through the summer." (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH)

CA LAWMAKERS DECRY GOV'S UNILATERAL DEALING: CALIFORNIA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) was very active on the budget front last week, securing a pair of agreements that may enable him to deliver on his promise to close the state's projected $14 billion shortfall without raising taxes. Last Monday, Schwarzenegger struck a deal with local governments that would allow the state to take $2.6 billion in property taxes over the next two years in return for a constitutional safeguard against future raids on local property and sales taxes and a promise to repay about $2.3 billion the state owes local governments beginning in 2006. The following day, the governor announced that the heads of the state's two public university systems had agreed to accept millions of dollars in spending cuts this year in exchange for modest increases in funding through 2011. The problem is that the deals were made behind closed doors, away from lawmakers who must approve them, an approach the Democrats who control the Legislature were none too happy about. Assemblyman Marco Firebaugh (D) said, "It seems the governor chooses his partners where he sees fit and otherwise excludes us," while Sen. Jackie Speier (D) went a step further, stating, "The governor is trying to make the Legislature meaningless." Dems also pointed out that the deals were made on the promise of future money the governor might not be around to guarantee. Schwarzenegger denied his actions were intended to cut the Legislature out of the budget process and called the deals "extremely advantageous for our state." But the governor is likely to face opposition on one of the agreements from more than just lawmakers; student groups and some faculty leaders say they plan to fight the higher education deal with its proposed tuition increases and spending cuts. The governing boards of both the UC and California State systems will vote on the agreement this week. (LOS ANGELES TIMES, SACRAMENTO BEE, SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE)

KS JUDGE GETS TOUGH ON SCHOOL FUNDING: Last week, a KANSAS district judge ordered the state to close public schools, beginning June 30, until lawmakers fix the state's flawed educational funding system. The same judge had ruled the current school funding system unconstitutional last December, stating that it "failed to distribute school aid equitably to students, failed to spend enough to provide students a `suitable' education and did not serve the needs of poor, minority, disabled and non-English speaking children." News of the imminent school closures sent parents and school employees alike into a panic. State officials tried to calm their fears, saying the state Supreme Court would probably delay implementation of the order until it considers an appeal of the Dec. 2 district court ruling on the school funding system's constitutionality filed by Attorney General Phil Kline, which is scheduled to be heard in September. Kline said "Everybody needs to take a breath. There is a process, and we are following that process." Some legal experts say last week's edict was merely brinkmanship, intended to try to force lawmakers to resolve the school finance issue, which they've failed to do in the nearly six months since the original court ruling. In fact, observers point out that although all but five states (INDIANA, IOWA, MISSISSIPPI, NEVADA and UTAH) have faced lawsuits over school funding in the past four decades, and many judges have tried similar tactics to try to spur legislators into action, only NEW JERSEY actually closed its schools. (KANSAS CITY STAR, WICHITA EAGLE)

BUDGETS IN BRIEF: A key TEXAS senator said last week that the state's current special session on school finance reform may end without an agreement. Sen. Steve Ogden (R) stated that the Senate is "pretty well evenly divided" between those who want to pass a plan regardless of its chances in the House and those who favor letting time run out on the 30-day session. Gov. Rick Perry (R), who has promised to call as many special sessions as necessary to resolve the issue, has not indicated whether another session will begin immediately after the current one ends on May 19 (HOUSTON CHRONICLE). * OREGON House Speaker Karen Minnis (R) said last week she will call her chamber into special session to consider tax reform beginning June 1. But House members might get lonely in the Capitol, as Senate President Peter Courtney (D) opposes calling a special session and says he will only do so if a majority of his chamber's 30 senators vote for it. The special session was mandated by a resolution passed last year, but support for it has waned since voters rejected the Measure 30 tax increase also passed by the 2003 Legislature (STATESMAN JOURNAL [SALEM]). * The CONNECTICUT General Assembly approved nearly $1 billion in borrowing last week, fueled by lawmakers' election-year concerns. The bond package which was proposed months ago by Gov. John G. Rowland (R) actually started out at $811 million, but by the time it was passed last Tuesday -- unanimously in the Senate and with only scant opposition in the House - legislators' hometown capital projects had swelled it to over $993 million (HARTFORD COURANT).
 
 

-- Compiled by KOREY CLARK

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STATES CONSIDERING PRIMARY REFORM: A hundred years ago, reformers in OREGON established the country's first primary  election system to wrest control of the electoral process from party bosses and turn it over to voters. Now, a new group of reformers says the  political parties have too much control over the existing primary and change is again needed. They are advocating an open, nonpartisan primary that would allow voters to choose whichever candidate they like regardless of party affiliation and send the top two finishers on to the general election. This sort of top-two primary will also be considered by CALIFORNIA voters in November, and could eventually be adopted by WASHINGTON, either as a result of legal action or a ballot measure. The popularity of the top-two system in the West is rooted in the growing consensus that with most legislative districts controlled by one party or the other, general elections are often decided in closed primaries dominated by activists at the ideological extremes of the parties, which, in turn, has made legislatures more polarized. In Oregon, for instance, moderate Republicans no longer dominate statewide offices as they once did because they have trouble getting through the primary. Critics of the reform effort, however, argue that it would not necessarily guarantee better leadership, pointing out that LOUISIANA's top-two primary produced a runoff in 1991 between a white supremacist, David Duke, and Edwin Edwards, a politician with a long history of corruption. Nevertheless, Nick Tobey, the author of California's top-two primary initiative is confident the measure will pass, and he's garnered the support of such high-profile sponsors as former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta. And in Washington, the Grange has undertaken legal action to overturn Gov. Gary Locke's (D) veto of a bill that would have established a top-two primary in that state. The Grange is simultaneously pushing to get a top-two initiative on the November ballot. A poll of Oregon voters last year found that 58% supported an open primary, and support will likely grow if it passes in one of the other two Western states. (OREGONIAN [PORTLAND])

SINE DIE: COLORADO lawmakers managed to pass some landmark legislation in their 2004 session, including one bill that establishes a voucher program for college students, and another that lowers the legal limit for drunken driving from .10 percent blood-alcohol level to .08, making the state eligible for millions in federal funds for highway projects. But legislators were unable to accomplish what most agreed was their biggest challenge: reforming the two conflicting constitutional amendments that have hamstrung the state budget -- the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, which limits revenues, and Amendment 23, which mandates increased spending for education. Some blamed lingering resentment over last session's bitter redistricting battle for the failure to reach an accord (DENVER POST). * Dealing with the enormous distraction of Gov. John G. Rowland's (R) impeachment investigation, CONNECTICUT legislators failed to resolve a number of high-profile issues under consideration this session, including stem cell research, medical marijuana, gay marriage and ethics reform. House Majority Leader James Amann (D) said all of those issues would be revisited next year. Meanwhile, the two major issues lawmakers did have success with -- the state budget and medical malpractice reform -- are facing the threat of veto by the governor, although the budget is only subject to the line-item variety, having passed with a veto-proof majority (HARTFORD COURANT). * NEBRASKA Gov. Mike Johanns (R) praised lawmakers for their work on "tough issues" this session, including bills that will allow higher property tax levies and initiatives mandating child welfare, mental health and water policy reform. Legislators also agreed to give voters their first chance to weigh in on the subject of expanded gambling, placing a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would allow two casinos in the state (OMAHA WORLD-HERALD).

POLITICS IN BRIEF: The Republican minority in the CALIFORNIA Senate selected soft-spoken conservative Sen. Dick Ackerman as their new leader last week. Ackerman will succeed term-limited Sen. Jim Brulte, who is vacating his post 6 1/2 months early to assure a smooth leadership transition. Ackerman says his priorities will be getting the budget approved on time, making the state friendlier to business, and developing a long-term financing plan to assist local governments. Also in California, the Senate's elections committee unanimously approved a bill -- SB 1317 -- that would make it harder to recall state officials. The legislation was prompted by fear that the successful recall of Democratic Gov. Gray Davis last fall will encourage special interests to try to oust officials they oppose (LOS ANGELES TIMES, SAN DIEGO UNION- TRIBUNE, SACRAMENTO BEE). * John Ramsey, the father of slain child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey, announced that he would run for a seat in the MICHIGAN House of Representatives. Ramsey, who at one point was considered a suspect in the nearly eight-year old -- and still unsolved -- crime, said he wants to put his notoriety to use for the public good (USA TODAY). * The NEVADA Supreme Court has set a May 27 hearing date for the state Legislature's challenge of a lawsuit filed by Secretary of State Dean Heller. Heller's suit alleges that state government employees are prohibited from serving as legislators under the state constitution's separation of powers doctrine (LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL). * In NEW YORK, a bipartisan committee of lawmakers reached their first agreement last week in an effort to overhaul the state's election system in accordance with the federal Help America Vote Act. Under the agreement, first-time voters would be able to use several kinds of documents to identify themselves at the polls, including fishing licenses and utility bills. The agreement clears the way for lawmakers to enact legislation that would allow the state to recoup up to $235 million in federal funds to update its voting system (NEW YORK TIMES).
 
 

-- Compiled by RICH EHISEN

 
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Governors

GOVS URGED TO DITCH NATIONAL ASSOCIATION: A Washington D.C.-based anti-tax group is pressuring Republican governors to drop out of the National Governors Association (NGA), saying that cash-strapped states shouldn't spend taxpayers' money on membership dues for a group it says only promotes liberal causes. Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) wants the governors to forgo paying the dues -- which range from $20,000 to $163,000 -- as a show of fiscal restraint during what promises to be another tough budget year. ATR president Grover Norquist called the NGA memberships the "test of whether somebody is really trying to rein in spending," noting that  MINNESOTA Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) and CALIFORNIA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) have stopped paying the fees, while TEXAS Gov. Rick Perry (R) has opted out entirely. NGA Executive Director Raymond C. Scheppach says it is the group's policy that all governors are members whether they can pay or not. (STATELINE.ORG)

WALKER ONE AND DONE IN UTAH: Suddenly a lame duck, Utah Governor Olene S. Walker (R) says she does not plan to take her last seven months in office lightly. Last week Walker became the first incumbent Utah governor in almost 50 years to lose her job at the party convention, as the GOP placed her fourth in a crowded field of candidates seeking the Republican nomination for November's election. Frontrunners Jon Huntsman Jr. and Nolan Karras will face each other in a June primary. Although Walker earned praise from both parties after taking over last year when former Gov. Mike Leavitt (R) left to head the federal Environmental Protection Agency, supporters say she was doomed from the start. U.S. Senator Bob Bennett (R) said many delegates had already committed themselves to other people by the time she entered office, while state Senate President Mike Mansell (R) ventured that Walker suffered from the baggage of being attached to Leavitt's 11-plus years in office. Walker says she wants to use her remaining time in office working to settle several long-simmering state environmental issues, such as how to protect state watersheds. She also says this is her last go at public office, saying a career that saw her serve in the Legislature, as lieutenant governor and as governor is enough. Walker added that, "Next year, maybe my golf will improve." (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE) 

NAPOLITANO BURNS OVER LOST AIR TANKERS: ARIZONA Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) fired off an angry letter last week to U.S Agriculture Sect. Ann Veneman after the federal government decided to ground 33 air tankers used to drop fire retardant and water on growing wildfires. Napolitano was incensed over the timing of the declaration, which comes just as the Western summer fire season has started and a full two years after a pair of the tankers suffered fatal crashes. Those accidents were cited as reason for grounding the aging fleet. Napolitano said the delay in coming up with a replacement plan for the fleet was "inexcusable." She was joined in her quest by MONTANA Gov. Judy Martz (R), who said losing the planes would "seriously limit" the state's ability to fight blazes in what many experts predict will be a difficult fire season. Western states from Montana to CALIFORNIA will now have to rely more heavily on single engine air tankers and heavy duty helicopters, both of which carry significantly less volume of water or retardant than do the bigger tankers. (ARIZONA REPUBLIC)

GOVERNORS IN BRIEF: MAINE Gov. John Baldacci (D) said he will continue to receive Communion when he attends Mass, regardless of his pro-choice stance on abortion. Last week NEW JERSEY Gov. James E. McGreevey (D),  a fellow Catholic, said he will no longer seek Communion because of church opposition to his  pro-choice position (See May 10 Capitol Journal) (BANGOR DAILY NEWS).  * HAWAII Gov. Linda Lingle (R), one of only two Jewish governors in the U.S., will lead a delegation to Israel this week. Lingle will be the fourth current governor to visit the Jewish nation. The others were all Republicans -- COLORADO Gov. Bill Owens (R), NEW YORK Gov. George Pataki and CALIFORNIA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN). * COLORADO Gov. Bill Owens (R) and TEXAS Gov. Rick Perry (R) filed a brief in  support of President Bush's argument before the U.S. Supreme Court that "enemy combatants" can be detained indefinitely in Cuba without a court hearing. A decision is expected in July (DENVER POST). * NEBRASKA Gov. Mike Johanns (R) has asked for a federal agricultural disaster designation for 21 Cornhusker State counties. The state is in its fifth consecutive year of drought conditions. If granted, the designation would allow affected farmers to set aside any Farm Service Agency loan payments (OMAHA WORLD-HERALD). * ARKANSAS Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) said last week he will focus the rest of his term promoting his "Healthy Arkansas" initiative to fight obesity and tobacco use, and to  promote exercise. Huckabee has lost 105 pounds over the last year (DALLAS MORNING NEWS). * MICHIGAN Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) revised a plan to lighten sentences for some nonviolent offenders. The proposal was intended to ease prison overcrowding, but a new report shows the Wolverine State won't run out of prison space until 2006, not July of 2005 as first thought (DETROIT NEWS). * The WISCONSIN Supreme Court ruled that Gov. Jim Doyle (D) exceeded his authority in signing an Indian gaming compact that had no  expiration date and allowed Vegas-style games. The ruling negates several key provisions of the deal with the Forest County Potawatomi band, including a  $34 million payment the tribe was scheduled to make to the state in June  (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL). 
 

-- Compiled by RICH EHISEN

 
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States in Regular Session: 
CA, DE, IL, LA, MA, MI, MO, NC, NH, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, US, WI

States with Projected Special Session: 
KY on TBA
ME "c" on TBA
OR on 6/1/2004
                                        
States in Recess:  
AR "b", CA "d", CA "e", KS

States in Budget Hearing: NJ

Currently Prefiling:  MT(Drafts for 2005)

States Adjourned:  
AK, CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IN, KY, MD, ME, NE, NM, SD, UT, VA, WA, WV, WY

States in Special Session Adjourned: 
CA "a", CA "b", CA "c", CT "a", CT "b", CT "c", DE "a", GA "a", LA "a", MD "2003 session", ME "b", UT "c", VA "a", WA "a", WA "b", WA "c", WI "d", WI "e", WV "a"

Projected Regular Session Adjournment: 
AL, AZ, MN, MS, VT

Projected Special Session Adjournment: 
CT "d", TX "d" 
 

Letters indicate special/extraordinary sessions
Compiled By GINA HUMMELL | Data current  as of  5/14/04 | Source: State Net database

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Dialing before you drive

Since the Federal Communication Commission designated 511 as the national travel information number in 2000, 20 states have established their own statewide Call 511 systems (See Spotlight in this issue). This system allows commuters and highway travelers to obtain real-time traffic information across any covered area. CALIFORNIA, OHIO and FLORIDA do not have statewide service, but do offer the system in at least one major metropolitan area. Five more states are scheduled to begin using Call 511 in 2004, and many more are seeking funding to follow suit in 2005. The map below shows which states have the system in some form or another. For more information visit the Resource 511 Web site at www.deploy511.org/index.htm. 

 Source: National Conference of State Legislatures and the Federation of Tax Administrators

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BUSINESS: The ALASKA Senate unanimously approves legislation that extends the national "do not call" list to telemarketers making calls from within the state. The national list applies only to interstate calls.  The bill moves to Gov. Frank Murkowski (R) (ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS). * The OKLAHOMA Senate and House endorse SB 1252, a bill that would place a proposal to allow casino games at some Sooner State horse-racing tracks on the November ballot. It's off to Gov. Brad Henry (D) for consideration (OKLAHOMAN [OKLAHOMA CITY]). * SOUTH CAROLINA Gov. Mark Sanford (R) signs legislation that will force any new regulations on small businesses to be approved by a soon-to-be-formed review committee. The committee can't alter the regulation, but will be able to recommend changes (THE STATE [COLUMBIA]). * COLORADO Gov. Bill Owens (R) signs HB 1357, a measure that will allow restaurant/wineries to sell their own wine as well as other alcoholic beverages (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS).

CRIME & PUNISHMENT: The LOUISIANA Legislature sends SB 341, a measure that would ban open alcohol containers in moving automobiles, to Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D). Blanco is expected to sign it into law (NEW ORLEANS TIMES-PICAYUNE). * The ILLINOIS House approves SB 2809, a proposal that would bar drug dealers from using proceeds obtained from illegal drug sales to post bond. If signed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), the bill would allow state  attorneys to request the source of bail before the posting of any funds to ensure the money is legal (HERALD & REVIEW [DECATUR]). * NEW HAMPSHIRE Gov. Craig Benson (R) vetoes SB 513, legislation that would have eliminated  17-year-olds from consideration for the death penalty. The Granite State Senate might attempt to override the veto (MANCHESTER UNION LEADER).  * MISSOURI Gov. Bob Holden (D) signs HB 916, a bill that ties fines and jail terms associated with identity theft to the value of the goods or services obtained by the thief. Under the new law, a person using a stolen identity to obtain more than $100,000 in merchandise could get 10-30 years in prison (JEFFERSON CITY NEWS TRIBUNE). * Also in MISSOURI, the Senate approves legislation that would require all convicted felons to submit a DNA sample to law enforcement. The bill also stipulates that anyone cleared by DNA evidence can petition the state to get $50 for every day of wrongful incarceration. It goes to Gov. Bob Holden (D) (KANSAS CITY STAR). 

EDUCATION: The MISSOURI House overwhelmingly endorses an omnibus schools bill that combines dozens of ideas to change student life in the Show Me State. Included are prohibitions on school personnel from performing strip searches on students (JEFFERSON CITY NEWS TRIBUNE). * COLORADO Gov. Bill Owens (R) signs SB 189, the nation's first college voucher plan. Under the new law, Centennial State students attending public institutions could be eligible for an annual stipend of up to $2,400 per year, while low-income students could get $1,600 to attend private schools. (BOSTON GLOBE). 

ENVIRONMENT: An ALASKA House committee shoots down a bill aimed at allowing more non-state residents to hunt bears without a guide. The bill would have also made it easier to shoot bears where they have been identified as the cause of declining moose or caribou populations (FAIRBANKS DAILY NEWS MINER). * GEORGIA Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) signs a bill that will give tax breaks to small landowners who promise not to develop their properties (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION). * FLORIDA Gov. Jeb Bush (R) signs legislation that allows Sunshine State agricultural inspectors looking to root out trees infected with citrus canker the right to use a single search warrant to inspect an entire neighborhood rather than needing separate warrants for each home. Bush says the warrants will only be used as a last resort in seeking out the affected trees (MIAMI HERALD). * MISSISSIPPI Gov. Haley Barbour (R) signs a measure that would promote offshore drilling in Magnolia State waters. The legislation will also strip authority over mining leases from the state's environmental agencies and give it to the Mississippi Development Authority (SUN HERALD [BILOXI]). 

HEALTH: The CALIFORNIA Assembly approves AB 2871, a proposal that would allow cities and counties that run needle exchange programs to decide how to monitor those programs. It moves to the Senate (CONTRA COSTA TIMES). * The MASSACHUSETTS Legislature sends Gov. Mitt Romney (R) legislation that would automatically enroll 35,000 low-income and disabled seniors in a new Medicare prescription drug discount plan that would bring an estimated $15 million to the state. The governor is expected to sign it (STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE). * NEW JERSEY Gov. James E. McGreevey (D) signs a bill that creates the first state-funded stem cell research center in the nation. Supporters say the research could lead to cures for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, heart disease, diabetes, cancer and a host of other ailments; opponents claim it violates the sanctity of human life. The center's funding must still be approved by the Legislature (NEW YORK TIMES, NEWARK STAR-LEDGER).

SOCIAL POLICY: The MICHIGAN House okays a measure that bans medical facilities that perform abortions from selling fetal tissue. It moves to the Senate (DETROIT FREE PRESS). * A LOUISIANA House committee okays HB 61, a proposal to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriages. It moves to the House floor. A similar bill in the Senate, SB 166, failed by one vote to get the 2/3 majority it needed to pass (NEW ORLEANS TIMES-PICAYUNE). * NEW HAMPSHIRE Gov. Craig Benson (R) allows SB 335, which permits adult adoptees to obtain a copy of their original birth certificate, to become law without his signature. The bill will also allow the adoptees to obtain the medical histories of their birth parents if they desire (MANCHESTER UNION-LEADER). * The PENNSYLVANIA Senate endorses SB 985, which would ban common-law marriages in the Keystone State. It moves to the House (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE). 

POTPOURRI: The CALIFORNIA Senate approves legislation that allows courts to seal the financial records of people involved in divorce proceedings. It heads back to the Assembly (CONTRA COSTA TIMES). * The LOUISIANA House passes HB 1580, which bans street games that block traffic or private driveways. Violators would face a $25 fine. It heads to the Senate (NEW ORLEANS TIMES-PICAYUNE). * Also in LOUISIANA, a House panel gives initial approval to HB 322, which would make it illegal to drive in the left lane of an interstate highway unless the driver is passing another vehicle. It now will move to the full House (ADVOCATE [BATON ROUGE]). 
 
 
 

-- Compiled by RICH EHISEN

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HAM AND EGGS. A pair of governors recently took decidedly different approaches to ceremonial breakfasts. In CALIFORNIA, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told organizers that he could not attend the annual Host Breakfast, sponsored by the California Chamber of Commerce, because he would be finishing up a trip to the Middle East. Schwarzenegger arranged for actor Tom Arnold to stand in for him, and even taped a message to be broadcast at the event. But, lo, the governor thrilled the Sacramento crowd by walking on stage just as his video concluded. He had flown all night and arrived back in the capital at 5 a.m. Contrast Schwarzenegger's behavior with that of ILLINOIS Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who told organizers that he would attend the Governor's Prayer Breakfast last week -- then didn't show up. According to the Springfield Journal-Review, Blagojevich was bogged down in budget meetings. It was the first time in the event's 42-year history that a governor failed to attend.

FATHER OF THE YEAR. Sean Talty, 32, had a problem, and an OHIO court wanted to help him work through it. Before he had reached 30, notes the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Talty had fathered seven children with five different women. More important, Talty owed some $38,000 in child-support -- a crime for which he was convicted. But instead of sentencing him to jail, a Common Pleas judge ordered Talty to "make all reasonable efforts" to avoid procreation. After an appellate court affirmed the decision, Talty took his case to the Ohio Supreme Court where justices' questions seemed to indicate that the sentence violated the defendant's constitutional rights.  They also wondered how to enforce the punishment, or what the consequences might be if Talty's current wife became pregnant. A decision is due in six months.

LICENSE TO FILL. It may be the most unnecessary licensing requirement in the nation, but it is still on the books after a LOUISIANA legislative committee killed a bill to do away with it. The requirement, reports The New Orleans Times-Picayune? A license to become a practicing florist. Currently, Louisiana is the only state that insists florists take a written test, complete four floral arrangements in four hours and have the arrangements judged by a panel of florists before practicing the trade. Proponents of the bill to do away with the license argued that the requirement "needlessly interferes with an inherently harmless occupation" that does not need government regulation. Practicing florists thought otherwise and had enough clout with the Senate to ding the bill. After all, you wouldn't want to let just anybody fob flowers off on an unsuspecting public. 

TOM AND MARLA. No, it's not a new singing duo. In fact, it's the same person. He currently is Tom Murphy, a retired Air Force master sergeant who now serves on the Rapid City, SOUTH DAKOTA, City Council. But as The Associated Press reports, Tom will become Marla after his council term ends in December and he undergoes a sex-change operation. Murphy already is taking some hormone therapy but continues to dress as a man for council meetings. And how have his constituents taken the news? To his surprise, Murphy reports, neighbors and townsfolk have largely been supportive. 

FINDING NEMO ... then blasting the living bejeezus out of him is considered a sport in VERMONT. "Fish shooting season" is in full swing in the New England woods, reports The New York Times, as enthusiasts take to the ponds, rivers and lakes armed to the teeth with .357 Magnums, AK-47s and shotguns. Purpose? To wait in the trees and high grass until some trout flickers past, then rise up and fire away. Apparently, this is a tricky way to secure lunch. As one avid hunter notes, you don't want to actually hit a fish because after they've been winged, "they just kind of shatter." The real art, it seems, is to shoot just in front of the fish so that the bullet creates enough concussion to break the fish's air bladder and float it to the surface. Then, maybe, you can finish it off with a blow from a tomahawk to --- you know --get the complete hunting adventure.
 
 

-- By A.G. BLOCK

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State Net's data base tracks tens of thousands of bills in all 50 states at any given time. Here's a snapshot of what's in the legislative works:

THIS WEEK

• New bill intros/prefiles this week: 1,984
• Enacted/adopted: 570

OVERALL

• Total Number of bill intros/prefiles in 2004: 105,559
• Enacted/adopted in 2004: 15,461
• Total Number of measures in State Net database: 175,051

Compiled By GINA HUMMELL | Data current  as of 5/7/04 | Source: State Net database

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Executive Editor: A.G. Block
Associate Editors: Rich Ehisen, Korey Clark
Correspondents: Richard Cox (CA), Steve Karas (CA), 
Bruce McKeeman (CA), Kelli Harvel (FL), 
Linda Mendenhall (IL), Lauren King (MA) 
and Troy Cassel (PA)
Design: Richard Hansen, Heather Conway

Copyright 2004 State Net
ISSN: 1521-8449